My wardrobe is what most people would consider slightly excessive. I own a lot of clothes. And handbags. And shoes. I purge my closet two times a year, throwing out what I’m sure I won’t wear again. But I often have a dilemma when donating. I wonder, does my disdain for an item really have merit. Would someone else see treasure where I see trash? Donating is great, but when it comes to old footwear, I only donate old shoes that I bought and never wore much for whatever reason....we all have some of those! I do think that shoes are something we have to be very careful about donating. OMG, those 17!!!!! year old leather boots have been sitting for about 10 years on the bottom of my closet.Lollol ...you must see them:http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7815/v11nb8.jpg

Arrghh, they look like old pointy toe'd high top golashes and alone the germs ...Ewwwww!!! I think it's common sense to donate lightly worn shoes in excellent condition. Our church actually takes donations yearly that go to children in Mexico who literally do not own shoes. So, yeah, I definitely donate there. But, old, worn, impractical shoes? Nope. They're not worth the effort or cost it would take someone else to sort through them! From I understand the waste bill of those places is already huge enough. And while I do a lot of clothing donations, those 17 years old boots went into the big black garbage bag and I dropped a pile of waste on top. They had no worth ...not even a penny for recyclers. I´m generally not a squeamish person, but I think after 17 years those boots were unhygienic stuff. In this case ...these old leather boots were domestic waste and NOT donation items. Do you agree with me in the case of those old boots? Just serious answers, please :)

From a health standpoint, they are hazaderous because of their heel height and the damage repeated use does to your feet, tendons and joints. More business for the chiropractor, podiatrist and orthopedic specialists. Not the germs as one might assume.

Someone out there might like these vintage, gently worn boots, it has little to do with the age of the boots or germs. I can sometimes find exactly what I am looking for at a second hand shop, shoes from a previous season, in a shade not offered this season, rather then the unfashionable offerings that pop up so often.

Who on earth who lived through the sixties would relish the platform shoes of that era? We see them now and think they were ridiculous then and still are today. Some fashions should remain buried in the past, unless you are doing a period piece and need them for the movie or something of that nature.

The clunky thick heels, of recent favor, do no one any favors, especially if you have think legs, full calves or are carrying too much weight or thinkness in your legs, they make you look worse!

Although if the heels are high, a thicker heel offers more support for the weight distribution they must support.

Shoe designers do not design for comfort, if they did, we would see softer leather and lower heels.

Have you ever looked at the footwear people wear to commute to work?

Shoes need to be aired out every day, not worn on two consecutive days, to let them breathe. Odor and moisture are of more concern than germs. One can use foot powder or disinfectant and if the person has athlete's feet, the shoes should never be given to anyone else and should be trashed.

I have no issue donating shoes on behalf of my clients, so long as they are in decent shape. I am very firm when working with clients, that we consider carefully what items should be donated versus just tossed out.

Nobody else wants our trash, and I think we have to respect the difference between donating something that someone could reasonably wear with pride, versus just trying to foist our trash off on someone else and make ourselves feel better because we "donated it" rather than threw it away.